Flush-valve for water-closets.



1,217,183. f .Patented Fm). 27, 1917.

www;

' other constructions.

f (STATES PATENT OFFICE,

,ALBERT c. Jackson, or DAYTON, omo, AssIGNoit To I.. BAY'LENICH, or UmoN -c1TY,j

r INnrANa FLUSH-VALVE FOR WATER-CLOSETS.'

Specification. of Letters Patent. Patented Feb, `27, 1917@ Application filed Iune21, 1815. Serial No. 35,403.Y i

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, ALBERT C. JAcKsoN, citizen of the United. States, residing `at Dayton, in the county of Montgomery and State of-Ghio, have invented certain new end useful Improvements in Flush-Valves a specification. I Y l My invention relates toA automatically y"controlled valves particularly adapted for use as supply orv inlet valves for flush tanks of water closets but equally applicable to for WatereClosets, of which the following is The object of the invention is to simplify the structure as well-as the meansand mode of operationof Such devices whereby they willnot only-be-cheapened in construction, but will be more eliicientin use, positive in action, automatically controlled and unlikely toiet out of repair. y

, susually constructed, the supply orinlet valves of flush tanks are controlled by a float, which, as the water inkthe tank rises, gradually closes the valve until the predetermined level is reached, at which point the valve .will be completely seated. .In such constructions the relation of the i et valve with theseat constantly varies in roportion to the height of the water within the tank. As the waterlevel4 approaches thepredeter mined level, .the supply valve iscaused to gradually 'approach itsseat thereby dimin- 'ishing' the' water supply, This method of' valve control' prolongsthe period of the illl` ing operation and as the capacity of the inlet is reduced causes the valve to produce a `shrill disagreeablefrwhistling or 'screeching i The primary object of the present inven-V tion is to provide means by which the .tank will-,bef4 rapidly refilled', thus reducing the of filling t'o minimum.v This 1s accomplished by maintaining the supply or.

inlet, valve wide open during the entire filling operation land releaslng 1t only when the-'tank has been filled. `This will climi` nate the disagreeable' noise before mentioned. However, if the valve is permitted i to closetoo suddenly it will `'cause a thud or loud sound as the valve strikes its seat.A A. further `object of the presentin'vention is to provide means for automaticallyV convalve in its opnpositi'o linitially operated` and=to re V'listruction the` loss of wateris 'reduced openedin the eventF the water-levgl consists of the features of construction, theV parts andcombinations thereof, andV the mode of operatiomor their equivalents,- as hereinafter described and 'set forth inthe claimsr. A 'Referringto thedrawin'gs, Figure 1,- s`

agvertieal: sectional view of the operating-f .mechanism 'of a flush tank embodyingthe "construction forming the subject-` matter hereof. F1g..2 :is 4a' detail sectional viewtof' trolling the seating of the valve ,when rethe inlet valve and housingrinwaplane'lat l .right anglesrto that shown in Fig. 1.y Fig;

3 is a-detail Vsectional viewof a mod iiicatiom of the valve control means.

Like pms are-mamma by. similar .chart-f acters of reference views.

of thisv character by means o a' lfloat so con-V.,

'fneoted as to actuate the valve, throughout its opening ,or closing'movementeot-both; It is `tol be noted in the. constructionrv forming., the subjectmat'ter hereof that while agloat ff.

is employedhltdoesnet actuate the valve iin eitler direction.-

Tbe Vsupply Aor inletvalve herein described is 'openedby .manual effort and is closed at the' termination ofthe fill-y sure ofV the {WMQIQSUPTIY Thus vboth thegz" ning.v ments areaomp .she

whenthe water within minimum as "the supply valve-will` apt' throughoutthe several" ,i Ieifsethew' f he .gypredeterminedlevel. A s fa result 'ofothis' to.`

control the movement .of a'supplylinletvlalve t? the tank is lowered through leifxlmgge. f .i f Y In. the "drawings,4 1 is Ih 90. ing period byigravityassfstedlbv th-Prese :ne

ehe-valve with an inlet` conduit 2 and an outlet or flush conduitB: The iush conduit 3 is con- ,trolled by the'ordinary ball valve 4 connected by la jointed' .link' with one end of an operating lever 6. This operating lever may beoscillated to lift the ball valve 4 by means of a handle 7 on the outside ofthe tank or by means of 'a cord or chain as com'- monly employed. This is the usual construction and operation of flush tank outlet valves and forms no part of the present invention. It is obvious, however, that any by a valve 11 carried upon a verticallymoving stem 12. The valve stem 12 extends downward through the extension 10 of the head 8 and projects through an opening at the lower end of said head.

The stem 12 also projects upward above the valve 11 and at its upper end carries `a piston head 13 movable within the cylindrical dome 9. The piston head 13 is rig idly secured to the upper end of the stem 12 and is of a diameter slightly less than the interior bore of the dome 9. There is thus provided a clearance space or annular byl passof small proportion between-the periphsure whereby inthe downward movements of the piston 13 it will close the port 14 y compelling the water in passingI from one ery` of thepistonhead 13 and the interior face of the Wall of the dome. This permits lthe water to gradually pass to and fro between opposite sides ofthe piston head.

In addition to the annular bypass formed by the clearance space surrounding the piston head there is provided a port 14 in said head closed during the downward movement of the piston by a movable'disk 15. of coniparatively thin material carried upon the valve am 12 immediately below the piston. head 13. p

The disk 15 is` controlled by water presside of the piston head to the other-to pass 1intermediate 'the periphery of the head and wall of the dome. This will retard 'the movement of the valve, causing it to seat itself more slowly. Holwever, in the upward movement of the valve and'piston the movable disk 15 will be forced away from `the piston head 13 by water pressure, permittingfreey llow of water through the port 14 thereby reducing the resistance tothe i movement'of the valvefaiid piston.

Leading from the extension 10 of the head S is an outlet 16 communicating with a downwardly extending discharge pipe 1T terminating yadjacent to the bottom of the tank and below the low water level.

Pivoted at 18 to a suitable bracket 19 which may be attached to the wall of the tank but is preferably carried by the inlet conduit 2 is an oscillatory arm 2U extending beneath the lower end of the valve stem 12 of the valve l1 and adapted in its upward oscillation to engage said valve stem and elevate the 'valve 11 off its seat. The arm 20 may consist of a Single integral member .continuous throughout but is preferably formed in two sections pivoted one to the other as at 21. The terminal section 22 is .capable of oscillatory movement about the pivotal connection 21 in a downward direc"- tion independent of the primary section 20 but is provided with a lug .22x adapted to` engage the primary section 20 in the upward oscillation of the extension 22 tocause said parts to move in unison. At its outer end the extension arm 22 is provided with a slotted perforation through which the jointed links 5 extend.

There is also pivotally mounted in the bracket 19 an oscillatory arm 23 carrying at its outer end a float 24 which acts by gravity to lock the valve in open, position. The arm 23 is provided with a sector shaped head 25 having a shoulder 26 engaging in a notch 27 in the lower edge of the oscillatory arm 20. The construction is such that so' long as the-shoulder 26 of the sector iioat arm 23 will be heldi in its elevated poshaped head is engaged inv the notch the .sition -In order that the oat 17 may act vir vquickly to lock the valve after its initial operation the lioat is'normally maintained in an elevated position above the normal fluid level, from which it falls by gravity when released at the opening of the valve. The float may be said to be a buoyant weight falling by gravity to lock the valve and lifted by its buoyancy to release the valve. The flush tank is provided with an outlet or overflow bypass conduit V28 at normall water level vof less capacity than the inlet conduit 2. The construction is such that water will be delivered to the tank sufficient to cause the oat 24 to rise above the normal level of the water. The shoulder 26 is so located on the lead 25`that it will no-t engage in the notch 27 until the oat 24 has been elevated above the normal water level.. When the shoulder 26 and'notch 2 have interengaged and the inlet valve l1 has seated" itself and arrested the inflow of watler, the excess will be drained away through the outlet bypass 28, leaving the lioat 24 maintained 'in' its elevated position by the en gagement ofthe shoulder 26 of the sector shaped'head with the notch 2i' of the arm 20.

115 during vthe filling operation an excess of u The operation of the device is as follows: The oscillation of the operating lever 6 by means of the handle elevates thejointed links to lift the ball valve 4 from off its 5 seat. This Eermits the escape of water from.l

the tank. uring the upward movement of the jointed links 5 ,the joint 2 9 thereof o1" a button or'similar projection carried by the links engages thel extremity of the extension 22 'of the arm 20 and carries said arni 20 and its extension upward in. unison with the links'5. Ihe upward-'movement'of this arm to the position shown in dottedlines in Fig. 1 elevates thevalve 411 'ofits seat. This permits the -water aupplyto discharge into'the tank from' theiconduit 2 through the head 8 and ,extension @thereof and thence through the outlet.16.ahd dischargeoondut 17v to the ofthetank; The water within the 2o dome Bwhich Visunderpnessure' aords no material resistancettotlie upward movement of the4 valve inasmuehfastle .pressure is equal on oppositefsides'"hf ;.the piston and during theupw" ementithe portl/l in 2 5 the piston hea open.' The waterwith- Y in the-dome' ja ve the. pistonhead V13 escapes through port M 'andthroughthe annuj larl bypass leitaiiee' space surrounding the-"piston Ion-of the oscillatory sir-m 1e' lifted out-of eugugement i lde'r-26of the head'25 and the 'float 24;,bengino`longer supported thereby,

''Lffalls romfitsielevated position. As the floatl $5`z-^descends the sector shaped head oscillates benotch 27'.and serves as a' stop t ooldftlie arm 20 elevated. By holding the 'y Mini20 elevated'the head 25 maintains the inletlvalve 11 open until the float isreturned .bythe water level to a -point where the shoulder 26 is moved past the shoulder of the notch 27' whereupon the arm 2O will fall into engagement with the head" 25 and again lock the ioatin lits elevated' position. As

46 before stated, the fioat 24 at the time of engagement of the shoulder 26 ii d'notch 27 is elevated above the ,normalwater levelby the excess water admitted which subsequently escapes Ithrough the `outlet 28 leaving the 5 0 oat supported solely by 'the shoulder 26. When4 the arm 20 'descends to. locking.' .posi-`v tion it leaves the inlet valve '11 inopenposi' tion and'suspended upon the water withinl thefhead-S. .I twill -benoted that the-inlet', wfalve'` was lockedv during rthe entire discharge "andiilling operations. .At-the termination ofthe filling Voperation the, inlet valve is unlocked but does not close'immediatelyasthe4 y water pressure 'within t head 8 and dome.,

9 resists' ,rapid movem jt ofthe piston' 13""7-l and the descent of the alve to its' seat will'. be gradual. During this closing movement 'the movable disk l5 lwill have moved into contact with the ,piston head 13 and closed tt'. the port 14 Vunder 'theiniuence' of thewater Aa rate 'the termination' of this period is closed quickly but not suddenly. The .valve is under control duringits closing operation and the speed with which it reaches its seat is dependent upon the rapidity with which the Water is permitted to pass. from the under sideY of the piston head 13 to the upper side thereof. i 4. It is obvious that the provision fora Supplemental water supply by which the float is elevated above the normal level is unneces sary if means is `.provided for maintaining theflush valve 4 open for a sufilcient period 85 of time to permit the lioat 24 to fall with `the- Water level sufficient to bring the sector shaped head25 into locking position. It Vwill -likewise be unnecessary if the. handle 7 is held for suiiicient length ofA time to permit 9o the necessary movement-of the float and lockl in head. I l

n the construction above described thevalveiis cushioned in its seating movement by .the body of.v water under pressure within' 95 the chamb'er head. The'wate being normally underequal essure on pp'osite sides of `thep'sttlplf'liea 113,V the atl 'of the.V valvewlll e'ected solely by gravity.- The valve, however, will'befprevented romop-loo era-tin suddenly for Vi the valve-and at# tache piston shoulddesoend at a too rapidi' I 'rate or faster than' the water. Vcan 'pass throurrh. the annular. by-pass to the u pei.v side o? the piston head, lthe tendency will 'be' ,'105 'for the piston head to create 'a partialA vacuum or tb, reduce `thepressure within thev dome.' The pressure upon 'the' opposite `side of the piston head would thus b'e unequal and. the water below-fthel piston` eitertihg its pressure u ward would arrest the valite'nd piston. v heyalve is thus underV constant.'

control and is pemitted to settle gradually .to its seat under the influence oigravityat n proportionate tothe passageoi water throng the .annular bypassfrom'th lower side of.the\\pistontp the4 upper side thereof.

The seating of 'the'yalvels thus controlled directly by theescape ofwater pastthepif` ton during the 'seating movement.' 1-2'0 In Fig. 3 there has been shown'fafmodifica! j tionof this construction in` which the bottomzgqfvthe chamber-Bis 'provided with an` C yanmllar recess-29 surrounding the sea ofthe va'ligfefll. AThevalve 11 is provided ith a'125 flanged head`30, theliange of'whichprojects within'the annular recess 29 when the valve lliss'eated. The iangeogthe'he'ad 30 Ysubstantially otn-formsin crossgsectiontto the crosssecti'on areagof the Vrecess 29 leaving a `130 l supported upon'the extension principle involved is quite similar. In both instances the valve is controlled by the pressure of,a confined body of water which permits the valve to seat itself as the Water escaps through the bypass.

he purpose Vof joining the arms 20 and 22 is to prevent the float 24 being accidentally of the arm and so held against operation. In the construe tion as described the extension 22 of the arm 20 being free to swing downward would move down in unison with the float in the event the latter Was accidentally engaged therewith.

From the above description it will be apparent that there is thus provided a device of the character described, possessing the particular features of advantage before enumerated as desirable but which obviously is susceptible of modilication in its form, proportion, detail construction, or arrangement of parts without departing from the principle involved or sacrificing any of its adv lntages.

lhile in order to comply With the statute the invention has been described in language more f less specific as to certain structural features, it is to -be understood that the means and construction herein described comprise but one mode of putting the invention into eifect and the invention is therefore claimed broadly in any of its possible forms or modifications within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, I

claim:

l. In an apparatus of the character described, a reservoir, an inlet valve therefor, a reciprocatory piston controlling the movement of said valve, a gravity controlled lock for maintaining the piston in an inoperative position, and piston when the Huid within the. reservoir has reached a predetermined level, whereby said piston will be permitted to 'subsequent movement of the' valve.

2. In an apparatus of the character described, a reservoir, an..y inlet valve therefor, manually operated valve opening means,` a fluid pressurecontrolled piston governing the movement of said-valve,` ated lock for maintaining the piston inoperlweighted arm being g adapted upon a float adapted to release said govern the a gravity operative, and afloat adapted to release the pis- 'ton when the fluid within the reservoir reaches a predetermined level.

y In an apparatus f the character/described, a reservoir, an inlet valve therefor, an oscillatory lever adapted by its oscillatory movement to unseat the valve,l means for locking the lever in its operated position, and means for unlocking the lever when the Water within the tank reaches a predeter` mined level.

4. In an apparatus of the character described, a reservoir, an inlet valve therefor, a Weighted arm, av manuallyl operated lever normally engaged with the weighted arm and holding the arm in elevated position, means for manually disengaging the lever and arm, said lever being adapted to unseat the valve in its disengaging movement, the` adapted to hold the leverl in operated position, specilied.,

5. In an apparatus of the character de-v scribed, a reservoir, an inlet valve therefor, a valve operating lever, a weighted arm normally engaged bythe lever to hold said arm in an elevated position, said lever being adapted to simultaneously unseat the valve and release the arm, and a lock -for said lever actuated by the movement of the arm.

6. In an apparatus of the character described, a reservoir, an inlet valve therefor, an operating lever for said valve having a detent shoulder' thereon, oscillatory segmental head carrying the 'weighted arm and engaging the datent shoulder of the lever to hold the weighted arm in elevated position, and disengaged therefrom by `the oscillation of the lever, said segmental' head' being adapted to project into the path of the lever upon its re substantially as a weighted arm, an

lease therefrom yto lock the lever against return movement.

7. In an apparatus of the character described, a reservoir, an-inlet valve and an outlet valve therefor, an operating arm moving in both directions in unison with the outlet valve and adapted when moved in. one direction to open said inlet valve, but

means' for temporarily locking the inlet valve in open positionlto which it is moved .by the operation ofsai arm andmeans-` releasing Said valve.

the return movement of the out-let valve to return independent of said inlet valve,

with the .other at a point removed from.-

their common lcrum, interengaging means between the arms of said lever whereby saliti 3 arms when osoillated in one` direction 'will` move 1n unison, the lte'rrrnnal arm being mldapted to move about their pivotal joint in the npposlt du'ectlon 11'1 1113151011 wlth the nwvemut of the outlet. 'valve ndependcmt of the mvlineint of the other :um about the common fulcrum.

9. In m1 apparatus 0f the diameter de- Scrfbed, a resetvor 'lzwing am inlet vulve, opmzltng 1119111155 for smid vulve including a, pvoted 111-111, :u1 operating' arm pivoted to Suid lx'st uwntimled 11H11 at 1L point mmomd from the .Elfllciim of the at'ter, und ntrengzlginf y111011113 between the operating arm und first mentioned arm whl'by said alims w11] muv@ 111 111115011 nbmlt a common fulcrum when mwved in 011e direction but pe' l mtting sftif operating arm to return indem pendent of Suid locklng :1l-IIL In testunony whereoi', 1 have hereunto set my mm1 this 18th my of June A. D. 1915.

ALBERT C. J ACKSON.

Witnesses ARRY F. NOLAN, F. L. WALKER. 

